DECISION TIME: David Wright signed a seven-year deal worth more than Johan Santana’s $137.5 million contract, according to WFAN.com Photo: N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg

The job isn’t complete for the Mets now; in fact, it only begins, only becomes more complicated. But say this: the Mets punched back late last night, for the first time in a long, long time. They stood up. It’s a good start.

They re-sign David Wright, according to WFAN, sign him to a seven-year deal (north of Johan Santana’s $137.5 million contract) and the richest deal in club history, and that is a good thing. Wright almost certainly will be a lifetime Met, and by doing that he sets aside years of punch lines and offers this piece of hope for the future:

If it’s good enough for Wright, maybe it’s good enough for me.

This is a move that signals that if the Mets’ financial issues aren’t solved, they are at least no longer so ruinous as to keep the Mets completely out of the conversation when dollars and sense are discussed. Wright already has many of the important records in team history; by the time his career is over he will have all of them.

For a team that has had exactly one lifetime player of any substance — Ed Kranepool — this is a significant step. For a team whose own fans have doubted its very credibility, and viability, is sends an important message. The Mets may not be ready for a parade anytime soon but they no longer work under complete austerity, either.

Now comes the hard part.

Because while most Mets fans will delight waking up to this news, will be happy to know the time they have invested in No. 5 was not spent in vain, that will fade soon. And the last thing the Mets can be now is halfway with this. Wright has to be the first step of a larger plan, he can’t be the whole plan.

Eight years ago, in a different financial time and a different era the Mets signed Pedro Martinez as a symbol as much as a player: the message was if its good enough for Pedro it was good enough for others. Carlos Beltran followed soon thereafter, and within two years the Mets were one game from the Woeld Series. Pedro provides credibility. And Omar Minaya built something around him. The blueprint is there.

Maybe there isn’t a Beltran on the horizon; but there has to be something else. Signing Wright was the right thing to do. But it can’t be the only thing they do.